Snoop Dogg just released a controversial music video for his single “Lavender” (Nightfall remix), a remix of BADBADNOTGOOD’s song featuring Kaytranada, in which he points a gun and shoots at a clown dressed like President Trump. The music video is set in a funhouse world and starring a clown-in-chief named Ronald Klump.
The video was directed by Jesse Wellens, the star of the Youtube channel PrankvsPrank, who pitched the idea to Snoop Dogg last October when they were smoking in the YouTuber’s car.
Billboard reported that the pitch included Resident Evil dogs, many clowns, a commercial for the fake Snoop Loops cereal and a concept inspired by Philando Castile –the man who was shot by cops at a traffic stop last July, as recorded by his girlfriend, who filmed and posted the brutal event.
Clown-in-Chief
The rapper promised Wellens a song, and three days later he delivered: he sent the YouTuber his take on BADBADNOTGOOD’s track “Lavender.” The remix was released on Sunday via Innovative Leisure, BADBADNOTGOOD’s record label. Snoop says it will be on his forthcoming album too, which will be called Never Left and will be available in May.
The video is a satirical representation of current events: there’s a press conference held by Clown-in-Chief Ronald Klump to announce the deportation of all dogs in the country, and there’s a shooting (with a glitter gun) of a clown sitting in his car, while another clown records it. In one of the most controversial points of the video, Snoop Dogg pulls out a fake gun and points it at Klump.
Director Jesse Wellens talked to Billboard about the music video.
“I just had been seeing this go on in the world politically, and I actually was a cop for six years in the military, so I can kind of see it from the cop’s point of view too” he explains. “When I originally wrote the idea of the video, the video of [Philando Castile] getting shot came out online and it was causing riots. We just kind of wanted to bring the clowns out, because it’s clownery – it’s ridiculous what’s happening. As America, it just doesn’t seem like we’re very respected right now,” he concluded, according to Billboard.
Filling the void
Snoop Dogg shared Wellens’ feelings, and he’s been trying to start a dialog about violent shootings. In July, he and fellow West Coast MC The Game led a peaceful march to the Los Angeles Police Department as a sign of protest against the sniper shooting that had taken place in Dallas.
Snoop Dogg says he’s not looking for a response from America or Trump for the video. He explains that he put it out because he feels that it’s something that’s missing, he wants to fill in a void. He wishes to diverge from fellow rappers who are only making cool records, having fun and partying, as oppose to dealing with the real issue, that they have a clown for president.
Source: Billboard